With Anthem of the Seas preparing for her inaugural cruise, we have photos from all over Royal Caribbean's brand new ship.
Anthem of the Seas is sailing out of Southampton, UK through October, where she will sail to the Mediterranean and Canary Islands.
Royal Caribbean has packed Anthem of the Seas with quite a number of intriguing onboard activities, restaurants and amenities.
Later this year, Anthem of the Seas will reposition to Cape Liberty, New Jersey and offer cruises out of the New York area.
Anthem of the Seas is the second Quantum-class cruise ship and is labeled as one of the most technologically advanced cruise ships ever. High speed internet, RFID technology, robotic bartenders and entertainment advances all make this ship a technological marvel.
We're getting our first look inside Royal Caribbean's brand new Anthem of the Seas, including the Puzzle Break room.
We first reported that Royal Caribbean was partnering with a company called Puzzle Break earlier this month, which will offer a new experience called "Escape from the Future."
The new room on Anthem of the Seas is based on the Crystal Maze game show and is a first of its kind at sea.
Royal Caribbean's next great adventure, Anthem of the Seas, has arrived. The world's most technologically advanced ship is now sailing from her homeport in Southampton, UK., through October where she will sail to the Mediterranean and Canary Islands.
Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas will have its upcoming drydock session take place at Navantia shipyard in Cadiz, Spain.
Cruise Industry News reports that the dry dock work will provide ship-repair, revitalization, upgrading and related marine services for Allure of the Seas, as well as other future work on the fleet.
Royal Caribbean first started working with Navantia back in 2011, when when Navantia won the bid to refurb Splendour of the Seas. Since then, the yard has worked on ships across Royal Caribbean’s brands.
The agreement runs through 2016 and includes the current drydocking of Explorer of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas this May, as well as other ships.
Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley sent an email to all past guests that have sailed on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas with an offer of $100 onboard credit towards a future cruise on Anthem of the Seas.
Bayley's email was sent in response to the negative feedback surrounding Dynamic Dining on Quantum of the Seas in the ship's first few months. Since that time, Royal Caribbean has worked to refine Dynamic Dining and the general Quantum-class experience.
Here is the content of the email to past passengers:
Thank you for being one of the first to sail onboard Quantum of the Seas. As the newest ship in our fleet, Quantum introduced many new concepts—which, I'm sure, is part of the reason you wanted to be among the first to experience it all. I know that things were not perfect, especially in the first few months of the inaugural season as we worked to refine the experience we set out to deliver. We listened to your feedback and it was clear we had some room to improve, especially with Dynamic Dining.
Many of you liked the flexibility of Dynamic Dining, but encountered issues with making reservations. Others simply wanted the more traditional dining experience to which they were accustomed on other ships. I assure you that we learn more with every sailing and with every comment we receive, and I'm pleased to announce that we've come up with a way to satisfy diners in either camp. Now, our more traditional diners can choose Dynamic Dining Classic, a new option that gives you the familiarity of traditional main dining by having the same dining times nightly, same waiters and same table companions throughout the cruise. And those of you who liked Dynamic Dining can enjoy even more flexibility and improved service throughout the experience, with Dynamic Dining Choice. We've already received a lot of positive feedback about these new options, and I can't wait to hear how you like it once you experience it for yourself.
As a gesture of goodwill and a thank you for your loyalty to Royal Caribbean, I invite you to come back and try the new and improved Dynamic Dining on our newest ship, Anthem of the Seas, and enjoy a gift of $100 in onboard credit per stateroom when you secure your booking in May. Again, thank you for being our guest. We hope to welcome you aboard soon.
Cruise must be booked April 13 - May 31, 2015. Offer applies to all Anthem of the Seas sailings. Offer includes $100 OBC and applies to all stateroom categories. Promo Code ANTHEM must be entered to receive onboard credit.
Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas is finally here and she's arrived in Southampton, England to begin her service in the fleet. The 167,800 gross registered ton ship packs a lot to see, do, eat, and experience. Here's what you need to know about Royal Caribbean's impressive new cruise ship.
Thrills and adventure
Anthem of the Seas is packed with thrills, starting off with North Star, the innovative glass observation capsule that takes passengers more than 300 feet above the ocean to give amazing views that were never before possible.
Ripcord by iFly offers the first skydiving simulator at sea. Passengers get the change to have the sensation of skydiving without the whole jumping out of a perfectly good airplane fear.
The SeaPlex area of the ship offers the largest indoor active space at sea, where during your cruise there will be activities like bumper cars, circus school, roller skating, basketball and more offered.
The FlowRider surf simulator isn't new to Anthem of the Seas, but it's yet another fun opportunity for you to try as you give surfing a try.
All four of these experiences are complimentary to passengers , but there are some private rental time available for North Star, Ripcord and the FlowRider if you want a more intimate experience.
Entertainment across the ship
If you are looking for entertainment on Anthem of the Seas, there are some really interesting shows to catch.
The Two70 venue at the aft of the ship offers a multi-deck arena that offers some really innovative and provocative shows where technology and live performers come together to deliver some very impressive shows.
The Royal Theater offers two brand new shows for guests to enjoy, "We Will Rock You" and "The Gift".
If you prefer some live music, check out the Music Hall, where there is usually live performances being held for your enjoyment. It's a great spot to hear some good tunes and to get out there and dance.
Brand new dining options
Anthem of the Seas will offer Royal Caribbean's new Dynamic Dining program, where passengers get to choose among 18 restaurants (including 5 complimentary restaurants) but without the formality of ship-wide dress codes or set dining times.
On Anthem of the Seas, passengers can choose between Dynamic Dining Choice and Dynamic Dining Classic.
Dynamic Dining Choice: Each evening, guests choose which restaurant to eat at, as well as when and with whom they want to dine with. You can make reservations in advance online or onboard the ship.
It's just like going out to a restaurant in your hometown: you can choose to call ahead and make a reservation or walk in and see if you can be seated.
Dynamic Dining Classic: For guests that prefer a more traditional dining experience, this brand new option will have a schedule of restaurants you will dine at each evening while retaining the same waiters and table mates. Each evening you will change the restaurant that you dine at but your tablemates and wait staff will be there too.
Tech, tech and more tech
Anthem of the Seas is literally packed with brand new technology that offer guests the easiest cruise experience yet.
The ship offers the fastest internet at sea, with super high fast WiFi onboard that in many cases is just as fast as the internet you have at home. Onboard Anthem of the Seas, you can stream movies from NetFlix, Facetime with friends back home and share photos very quickly.
New RFID technology in the form of WOWbands offer guests silicone bracelets that get you access to the entire ship without having to bring those SeaPass cards along with you anymore. Now all your dining reservations, activities and purchasing power is on your wrist.
Royal Caribbean also developed a brand new smartphone app for iOS and Android users called Royal iQ, where you can book entertainment and dining, track your luggage as it comes onboard the ship and communicate with other passengers seamlessly.
Then there's the Bionic Bar, where robots will take your drink orders and create your favorite concoction right in front of you.
If you book an inside stateroom on Anthem of the Seas, you will still have a great view thanks to the virtual balcony. Inside each inside stateroom is an 80-inch LED UHD television that shows real-time views from the ship. It's just like having a real balcony, but without the price!
Where will Anthem of the Seas be?
Anthem of the Seas will sail out of Southampton, UK for her inaugural season before departing for her new homeport of Cape Liberty, New Jersey later this fall.
Anthem of the Seas will spend the summer in the UK and then move across the Atlantic to the New York City area to offer cruises to the Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda and Canada.
As of the posting of this blog post, she will remain in Cape Liberty for the foreseeable future.
You will find Silk on deck 4 of Quantum of the Seas in the aft section. Entering the restaurant, it has perhaps the most interesting decor of the complimentary restaurants available on Quantum of the Seas.
Instantly, you will get the sense this restaurant has Asian inspirations and it certainly feels the part.
Inside Silk, you will find elaborate arches, patterns and colors that all look like they could be out of Bangkok, Delhi or Shanghai. In terms of the theming you will find in any of the complimentary restaurants, I really enjoy Silk's decor the most.
The layout of the restaurant is similar to the other complimentary restaurants, with a large room in the center with various alcoves of tables surrounding the main room. There's also windows that look out to the ocean on one side of the restaurant.
Eats
Silk's new menu offers a lot more choices than the original menu and it's once again a mixture of dishes from Vietnam Thailand, India and China primarily.
The menu also offers a few generic dishes that you will find at all the complimentary restaurants, such as grilled chicken breast, pasta primavera and salmon. None of these are Asian, they are just the "fallback" menu choices that are always available every night, similar to the main dining room menu on other Royal Caribbean ships.
There's no breads to start off with so you can jump right into appetizers. Most tables in Silk offer a lazy susan serving table that encourage guests to share dishes between your table mates. Our table near the window did not have one of these but odds are your appetizers will be served on the lazy susan.
To start off, I went with the spring rolls. Simple, yet the kind of food that is perfect for an Asian meal. They were a lot like any other spring roll I've ever had, so neither bad nor great.
There are a lot of appetizers to choose from but I was looking for a light meal today so I saved my stretchy pants functionality for the entrees.
For dinner I doubled down on Indian food, which is my favorite cuisine. I ordered the chicken tikka masala and the vegetable curry.
The chicken tikka masala was the same dish I ordered last year and it's still the same dish now. A few chunks of white chicken meat in an orange sauce, served with jasmine rice.
The chicken was good but nothing special. Moreover, it lacked any spice that is typical of Indian dishes.
The vegetable curry came next and once again, it lacked any spice or distinguishing flavor. I'm guessing Royal Caribbean wants to avoid spicy dishes for fear no one will order them (most Americans seem not to enjoy spicy ethnic foods).
My table mates opted to go with Chinese and Thai dishes and they reported their food had better reviews than what I ordered.
For dessert, I went with plain old strawberry ice cream. No disappointment here!
Overall
Unfortunately, I had another disappointing meal at Silk but I would say it was only disappointing because I ordered poorly.
The people I dined with and others on the ship that ordered other dishes seemed to enjoy their Silk experience more than I did, which is encouraging. If I were to go back to Silk again, I would skip the Indian dishes and go with the Chinese or Thai choices.
I get the sense the menu update has made Silk a better restaurant but its menu still has some pitfalls. Since you can order as much as you like at Silk, I would recommend ordered one of everything for the table and sampling to see what you like best.
Next time, I will stick with the Indian food in the Windjammer (which is quite delicious) and go a little further east for my dining choices.
Our newest podcast episode is out to help give you a quick "audio escape" to a Royal Caribbean cruise!
Episode 89 is available for downloading where Matt reviews Royal Caribbean's Dynamic Dining.
Dynamic Dining has transformed how guests enjoy dinner on their Royal Caribbean cruise, so this week, we review what we like about Dynamic Dining, how well it works (and doesn't work) and take a peek at what the future holds.
The world's third-largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas, arrived today in Southampton, England in advance of her grand debut in just a few days.
Photos by Royal Caribbean
Anthem of the Seas' naming ceremony will take place on April 20th but the ship arrived today in port to be ready for the media onslaught that is expected to announce her arrival in the UK market.
Royal Caribbean managing director, Stuart Leven, said, "Anthem of the Seas is designed to deliver what today's holiday makers want - new kind of experiences and adventures. Ships like Anthem of the Seas will help attract new groups of people and build the future of cruising. The UK and Ireland is our second largest market and with over 1.7 million Britons now taking a cruise every year, it has huge importance for our business.'
Royal Caribbean indicated they expect the ship to deliver around £50 million to the Southampton economy during the upcoming season.
Royal Caribbean Blog is an unofficial fan blog written for other fans of Royal Caribbean International. The Royal Caribbean Blog is not affiliated with Royal Caribbean International
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Episode 89
